Beast of the Week: Myk O'Connor

"I love meeting new people and talking with them. I'm a pretty outgoing person and enjoy learning about what people are like and their passions."

Myk O'Connor @themykoconnor is the host of the hilarious podcast, Can I Get A Ride, all about his reflections and conversations with the passengers he picks up. As it turns out, you can actually learn a lot from giving rides to strangers and you definitely gain a few new stories to tell at parties. Read our interview with Myk below to find out more about some of his most interesting driving experiences. You'll get a kick out of this one.

What’s your favorite part about your job?

I love meeting new people and talking with them. I'm a pretty outgoing person and enjoy learning about what people are like and their passions. Once I get over the anxiety of a stranger getting into my car, I'm pretty laid back and the conversation naturally evolves from there.

What’s the funniest conversation you’ve had while driving someone?

One of the funniest conversations was an overheard one between two college girls. I picked them up outside of a nice restaurant. They started talking about how good the food was to each other and seemed to enjoy their time. I just sat there listening. Not every rider interacts and that's totally fine. One of them made a comment to the other that she needs to eat better. Like more veggies. Brussels Sprouts (my personal favorite) was the highlight. The other girl responded that all veggies, ALL veggies gives her gas, so she avoids them. They went back and fourth about all the foods that give her gas. Imagining this petite college girl getting gas from all these wonderful foods made me chuckle.

What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever happened while driving someone?

Weirdest thing that's ever happened was picking up a passenger who was clearly drunk. Her friend brought her over to the car and said "take good care of her." Ok...yeah I'll do my best, but I'm always more comfortable if someone else is in the car in the event of intoxication. Always have to be cautious. She doesn't make much conversation but wants to change the music. No problem. She's shocked and keeps commenting about how "chill" I am. She forgets how to change the station and I show her, prompting her to try and hold my hand. Nope!! Can't do that! I get her home and she says "I just want to have sex." I tell her "Good luck tonight, ain't happening with me." She finally gets out of my car and unlocks hers and gets in the driver seat. I can't let this happen...not cool. So I go up to her car and knock on the window. I tell her it's probably not a good idea for her to drive. She says she wants to get a cheeseburger and it's totally fine, she does this all the time. I offer to take her, no charge, or that I'll go pick one up for her, but that she really shouldn't drive. We argue back and fourth and finally she says I need to drive her in HER car. After a few exchanges I finally relent and agree. I'm just trying to make sure that someone doesn't hurt themselves or others...I take her to the drive through and order her cheeseburger and as I'm doing it she says "what if I yell that you're kidnapping me?" Yikes. Not cool. On the drive back, she starts saying I'm psychotic all while ripping open the bag of burgers like she hasn't had food in days. I end the conversation and don't say another word. I was a little scared. I don't want to get in trouble. This would be a hard thing to explain to anyone. Once at her house I turn off the car and tell her that she should not be so trusting of everyone and that I hope she has a great night.

That was a rough ride. But certainly will stick with me forever.

What is the most interesting thing you’ve learned from one of your passengers?

One of my favorite passengers was a brief encounter. He was a young dude going to visit his roommate in the hospital. Apparently, his roommate has schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder. His roommate had an incident and he was going to make sure everything was ok. We got to talking about it and he was very open with how he deals with it. He seemed very compassionate and wanting to help his friend. He described how he has to interact with his roommate's different personalities and that sometimes it takes hours before his dominant personality comes back. It really reinforced that we don't know what people go through on a daily basis. It's gotta be rough.

What’s your absolute favorite food?

This is always a tough question, but I'd have to say migas tacos. Anytime of day. It hits the spot.

What do you do when you’re not driving people around?

When I'm not driving I'm spending time with my daughter. I like to have conversations with her and ask her what she thinks certain things mean. She has some hilarious stories and I like to draw what she says. I also am a host of a weekly podcast about the conversations and interactions with passengers I pick up. It's called, Can I Get a Ride. I've finally been able to have some free time to be able to do a podcast and I couldn't be more happy.

If you could give anyone in the world a ride, who would it be?

If there was one passenger I'd want to pick up...this is a tough one. Honestly, I'm a huge fan of Hugh Jackman. I used to be really into comics when I was a kid and, like most kids, Wolverine was my favorite character. He has thrown his all into his portrayal of the character that I have so many questions. Of course, he would have to be in character the whole time. And wear the claws. Thankfully, I have insurance that would cover incidentals.